The present invention relates to a safety belt arrangement for a vehicle, in particular a motor vehicle. In particular, but not exclusively, the present invention relates to a three-point safety belt arrangement. The present invention may also be employed in a two-point safety belt arrangement.
In conventional arrangements a belt deflection device is provided above a belt roller, which is preferably secured at the base of the vehicle. In order to improve passenger comfort the belt deflection device may be displaceable in the vertical direction so that taller persons can displace the deflection location upwardly and shorter persons can displace the deflection location downwardly. In this way the belt part which extends from the belt deflection device to the person who is buckled in arrives at the shoulder of the passenger at an angle which is not too steep and not too acute. Due to the angle, the draw-back forces which are exerted on the belt by the torque producing mechanism, which is preferably executed as a spiral spring in the belt roller, do not exert any unpleasant force components on the shoulders toward the rear. However, an unobjectionable holding of the passenger against the inertial forces is ensured in the event of sudden braking and in particular in the event of an accident.
Current belt deflection devices are required to withstand considerable forces during fall braking and, in particular, in the event of an accident. As a result, the displacement mechanisms must be designed to be particularly stable and strong, which is associated with increased material and construction costs and complexity. In contrast, there is no problem in securing belt deflection devices which are not adjustable in height to the vehicle, so that no danger of tearing out exists even in the event of an accident.